Ideal Printers President Larry Vaughn saw an opportunity to use automated kitting to improve production of a specialized application for an important manufacturing client. From its previous experience with an Océ VarioPrint 6250 system, the company knew it could count on the digital platform for reliability and horsepower.

“By reducing costs and being more efficient, print service providers can deliver more value to their customers, and the Océ solutions help us do this,” said Vaughn. “As with many industries today, our clients are trying to run more efficiently. Inventory obsolescence and waste are critical issues for our customers, so managing inventory and warehousing efficiently is increasingly important.”

With the Océ VarioPrint 6000 system, Ideal Printers has gone from printing thousands of copies on an offset press to producing just what is needed on demand. Clients don’t incur the operational cash outlay to carry inventory. While the on-demand program is in its early stages, Ideal Printers anticipates a savings of 15 to 20 percent for clients currently using the program.

Customized application requires multiple substrates

The Ideal Printers kitting application requires multiple substrates and forms. The Océ VarioPrint 6000 platform offers multiple input drawers, so each substrate can be pulled on demand without operator intervention. Now Ideal Printers can collate, print, stitch, add documents, and pull white or color card stock for each individual set.

Daily orders can vary from as few as 100 kits to as many as 2,000. Depending on the request, each multi-page document ranges from eight to 16 pages, and each kit can have from six to nine different components, including specific forms and tabs. Each customized kit prints fully assembled. Clients can also easily edit information or make changes to kits without creating obsolete inventory. With integrated workflow and inline kitting, the Océ VarioPrint 6160 Ultra system reduces labor on every order. Vaughn estimates labor savings will be 15 percent after the first year.